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Apple Releases Chrome Browser Extension for iCloud Passwords on Windows

Is this meant to work ok MacOS? The iClouds bookmarks extension says it is for windows when you click on it in MacOS, but this one doesn't do the same which makes me wonder if it's meant to work.
 
Useful for people who have both a Mac and a Windows PC.

I assume they didn't allow this to work on Macs because they want you to use Safari.
 
hdn said:
Doesn't work on a Mac, it seems.
View attachment 1722902
Click to expand...

It can't. First there is:
JavaScript: 
function checkForValidOS() {
    var e = window.navigator.appVersion
      , t = new RegExp("\\(Windows\\s*\\w*\\s*(\\d*)\\.(\\d*)","i").exec(e);
    return null != t && 3 == t.length && (t[1] >= 10 || !(t[1] < 6) && !(t[2] < 1))
}

And even if you patch that for Macs, there's
JavaScript: 
function doPasswordManaging() {
    try {
        (port = chrome.runtime.connectNative("com.apple.passwordmanager")).onDisconnect.addListener((function() {
            setStateNotifyPopup(ContextState.iCloudNotInstalled)
        }
        )),

So it relies on some iCloud for Windows code running outside of Chrome.
 
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adrianlondon said:
Once I switched from Safari to Firefox I started to use Bitwarden. I've since found it much more useful than keychain (as Apple haven't even bothered to write a keychain app for iOS) so I wouldn't move back even if they opened up Firefox support.

I like the fact I can fill in any field, as Bitwarden is pretty customisable. My router password, as just one example, would never be seen as a password field by Keychain/Safari but Bitwarden has no issues with it.

For me and my usage, I'm finding all of Apple's stock software getting worse and worse. I'm moving away from them one by one. This will also allow me to switch hardware (phone and laptop) in the future if necessary although I have no current plans to do that. I still like the hardware.
Click to expand...
I honestly think Firefox is going to die. They just dropped PWA support in they latest version and lost some serious market share in 2020.

on a Mac if I am not going to use a non Chromium browser it’s going to be Safari which now has more market share than Firefox, especially in the US.
 
SirAnthonyHopkins said:
Maybe, but I don't think Photos is a USP or killer app for MacOS. It's not like people are buying a Mac because it has photos on it. It may even be more likely that people avoid Macs/the Apple ecosystem because they don't want something as personal and important as their photos to be locked in. Or maybe they own a Mac but are using Google Photos instead because they want to access them on a PC, a problem Apple could solve by developing the browser version of Photos.

I don't see that making Photos an exclusive part of the walled garden is really giving people a reason to buy a Mac over a PC. You could easily argue it's the opposite.
Click to expand...
I know a bunch of people that specifically buy Mac’s because of photos and the sync with their iPhone. It’s the eco system. Notes and Safari as well.
 
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I buy Macs for the hardware and the software and the integration with my other Apple devices. I like everything about having a Mac after spending over 20 years on Windows and some password sharing on Windows won't change that.
 
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Remy149 said:
There used to a version of safari on windows
Click to expand...
I wish there still were.
jkreileder said:
And even if you patch that for Macs, there's
JavaScript: 
function doPasswordManaging() {
    try {
        (port = chrome.runtime.connectNative("com.apple.passwordmanager")).onDisconnect.addListener((function() {
            setStateNotifyPopup(ContextState.iCloudNotInstalled)
        }
        )),

So it relies on some iCloud for Windows code running outside of Chrome.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I checked LaunchServices and it seems com.apple.passwordmanager doesn't exist as a bundle in macOS. So, Windows-specific API.
 
chucker23n1 said:
OK, and what, precisely, is the reason? If fewer and fewer apps are Mac-exclusive, why get a Mac?
Click to expand...

Again: because you need a computer, but Windows is terrible. To put it back on you: Why *not* get a Mac? what are your other options?

The software that Apple will never allow outside of the ecosystem are its OS.
 
TheMacDaddy1 said:
I know a bunch of people that specifically buy Mac’s because of photos and the sync with their iPhone. It’s the eco system. Notes and Safari as well.
Click to expand...

Sure, but Apple has publicly stated that it intends to transition away from this model. Just the other day, Tim Cook was talking about how they want to be in areas where hardware, software and services intersect. That means building out the "services" part so that it is working as hard as the other two. They won't achieve that by attempting to make everyone use Apple services on Apple devices. Simply isn't going to happen. They need to expand. They are already putting more and more services onto the browser iCloud portal. They are putting Apple TV software and AirPlay onto Roku, consoles, televisions.

The idea that they're going to cling onto Photos specifically, because for some reason that's the killer thing that's keeping people tied to the Mac hardware, is completely fanciful and misunderstands Apple's strategy.
 
SirAnthonyHopkins said:
Sure, but Apple has publicly stated that it intends to transition away from this model. Just the other day, Tim Cook was talking about how they want to be in areas where hardware, software and services intersect. That means building out the "services" part so that it is working as hard as the other two. They won't achieve that by attempting to make everyone use Apple services on Apple devices. Simply isn't going to happen. They need to expand. They are already putting more and more services onto the browser iCloud portal. They are putting Apple TV software and AirPlay onto Roku, consoles, televisions.

The idea that they're going to cling onto Photos specifically, because for some reason that's the killer thing that's keeping people tied to the Mac hardware, is completely fanciful and misunderstands Apple's strategy.
Click to expand...
This is the same pivot Microsoft made back when Balmer was given the boot, and it’s worked incredibly well for them. They had been heading down a path of propriety services (not just consumer). Abandoning that insular approach and adopting a more agnostic approach has lead to some really good integration with 3rd party stuff.
 
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I installed the Chrome extension, and it prompted me to uipdate iCloud for Windows, which I did. And now iCloud for Windows is giving me popups to configure default mail/Outlook. Which is totally annoying.
 
spyguy10709 said:
as far as I'm aware, there's no need for it on Mac. If you're signed into icloud keychain in system preferences, your passwords will automatically be available in chrome as they would be in Safari. At least, I *think* that's my experience. Hard to know sometimes which passwords are being filled in by which services
Click to expand...
Exactly - you can determine it by speed of fulfillment. 😆
 
SirAnthonyHopkins said:
Again: because you need a computer, but Windows is terrible.
Click to expand...

Uh. When was the last time you used Windows?

SirAnthonyHopkins said:
To put it back on you: Why *not* get a Mac? what are your other options?

The software that Apple will never allow outside of the ecosystem are its OS.
Click to expand...

If neither Apple nor third parties are enticed to make software that's exclusive to the OS, what is the point?

 
Skiefire said:
This is the same pivot Microsoft made back when Balmer was given the boot, and it’s worked incredibly well for them. They had been heading down a path of propriety services (not just consumer). Abandoning that insular approach and adopting a more agnostic approach has lead to some really good integration with 3rd party stuff.
Click to expand...

It has been quite an interesting pivot, yes, but I'm not convinced it would work for Apple. (Nor do I see signs they're interested in that. Services as an add-on, sure. But what Microsoft is doing is essentially moving away from their existing big money makers Windows and Office. The equivalent would be for Apple to gradually move away from selling Mac and iOS hardware, and, yeah, no.)
 
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Yes you can install this on edge or chrome but the icloud app needs updating version 12 doesnt seem to be getting installed from the windows store, it says it was updated today but it's still installing version 11.6

you can check the version by opening the icloud app and in the upper right corner it'll display the version
 
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djjuice80 said:
Yes you can install this on edge or chrome but the icloud app needs updating version 12 doesnt seem to be getting installed from the windows store, it says it was updated today but it's still installing version 11.6

you can check the version by opening the icloud app and in the upper right corner it'll display the version
Click to expand...

I have version 12 installed but still can't use passwords (requires google chrome) :(
 
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